Despite being graded only Fair 2 by Professional Coin Grading Service, the 1878-S Seated Liberty half dollar in the auction is still a coin many Seated Liberty half dollar collectors likely don’t have in their collection.

Struck from the only known pair of dies, the offered WB-1 variety, as cataloged in the Complete Guide to Seated Liberty Half Dollars by Randy Wiley and Bill Bugert, is one of perhaps 50 to 60 examples known today from a reported mintage of 12,000 coins.

The Stack’s Bowers auction lot description suggests the low mintage of 1878-S half dollars is likely the result of most of the mintage being shipped overseas and subsequently melted. The U.S. Mint’s demand for smaller denomination coins dropped sharply after passage Feb. 28, 1878, of the Bland-Allison Act.

The act required the purchase of large quantities of domestically mined silver that was required to be struck into dollars. Millions of Morgan dollars were struck in 1878 as a result.

Long-hoarded silver coinage came flooding back into circulation, diminishing the need for large mintages of smaller coins.

The Commission of Fine Artsâ recommendation for the Proof 2014 American Eagle platinum coin, left, brought outrage and derision at the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee meeting. The CCAC recommended the design to the right.

The Commission of Fine Artsâ recommendation for the Proof 2014 American Eagle platinum coin, left, brought outrage and derision at the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee meeting. The CCAC recommended the design to the right.

The Commission of Fine Artsâ recommendation for the Proof 2014 American Eagle platinum coin, left, brought outrage and derision at the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee meeting. The CCAC recommended the design to the right.

The Commission of Fine Artsâ recommendation for the Proof 2014 American Eagle platinum coin, left, brought outrage and derision at the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee meeting. The CCAC recommended the design to the right.

The Commission of Fine Artsâ recommendation for the Proof 2014 American Eagle platinum coin, left, brought outrage and derision at the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee meeting. The CCAC recommended the design to the right.